Will costly web designs be defunct thanks to new software tools?

Back then, if you wanted money from your bank, a bank teller has to do it - now that's ATM. Thanks to technology!

Tax are now made easy thanks to tools.

The same can be said of web designing. We think the web is technology but within its technological domain, do you think more and more advanced tools are being made to make web designing cheap and easy? I'm talking about 10-20 years down the road.

I, personally, think that in 10-20 years, the web will be such a different medium than we're used to now, that there will be a completely different definition of "web design" and "website".

And remember, someone has to write the software for the ATM, just like someone has to write the software and design the hardware for these new and improved web design tools. I don't believe it will ever get to the point where humans are completely excluded from the world of technology. I have a saying I like to use when someone expects the computer to do something it hasn't been told to do, but it applies here: The computer is only as smart as the dummy sitting at the keyboard. You're always going to need a human to give it the initial button push or write the instructions for it.

Well, of course like any complex tool, there's gotta be someone who writes the software - programmers.

But what about web designing? To make sites, you gotta consult web design firms, freelancers, etc, and then you tell them to do this or that, charging you tons of money. How will that affect web designers?

You're never going to get to the point where you're going to have a tool that creates the backend and the interface without some programming interaction. People thought that was going to happen when Frontpage came out... and look where we are now. Frontpage is a giant POS.

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of course there will always be tools for the average joe, WYSIWYG, but you need a special skillset to develop a good looking, well developed site, highly functional site. You can only automate so much before you need something custom built. Now convincing people of this may be another story, but hey, there's always gonna be a web full of crappy sites.

edit: my biggest problem with this field is that people don't seem to understand the time and work involved in creating a website, and typically don't want to pay much for it.

I've had at least 5 promising jobs that just haven't gone though because the client backed out for one reason or another. It's quite discouraging.

Eh... tell me about it. In the past I've had clients that were iffy about prices for what was being provided, but they have no idea the hours that either goes into their custom stuff or what went into the framework that I'm copying to to their site. Even if I do nothing but copy a bunch of libraries and change a few graphics, all my customers pay the same because they are paying for a proven, well developed set of tools.

I have had some decent luck in the past few months though... a few clients have been completely satisfied with my pricing.

of course there will always be tools for the average joe, WYSIWYG, but you need a special skillset to develop a good looking, well developed site, highly functional site.

to me, that's exactly the point. you'll never be able to automate creativity. while there are tools to try to suggest ways of doing things, and there are actually some pretty professional looking templates in some of the software, there is no way companies that want to have a unique presence on the web will be able to sidestep the designers and developers.

as for the pricing, i've found that my biggest ally is to help them get quotes from some "professional" companies out there. typically, i can beat the local design firm's price by a decent margin since i don't have the overhead. now, every once in a while, i have a client who already knows what is involved and is more than happy to pay what the work is worth to get a good product, and boy are they a breath of fresh air. i've done about 4 separate projects for one such client (including a web interface for a database backup right now), and I'll do just about whatever it takes to keep them happy, believe me!

You can't win, you can't lose, you can't break even... you can't even get out of the game.